Tuberculosis : Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), also known as TB, is a disease spread by respiratory inhalation of droplets that contain the bacteria. Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has been traced back at least 9000 years. In 1882, Dr. Robert Koch was the first physician to describe Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the germ responsible for tuberculosis. However, treatment that was evidenced based was not put into practice until the 20th century. It is estimated that 2 billion people around the world are infected with the TB bacteria. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of these infected people will actual develop active TB and experience the life-threatening symptoms of the disease. Tuberculosis

In terms of etiology, the bacterium behind tuberculosis as discovered by Koch is a very stubborn one. In his work to determine the cause of tuberculosis he describes how the bacteria shows many distinct characteristics that make them so dynamic. They are rod-shaped, thin, only one-half as long as the diameter of hemoglobin but once in a while, they are able to get as long as the diameter of a cell and belong to a group of Bacilli. In addition, they are also described to possess a form and size that resembles that of the leprosy bacillus that exists in large numbers in everywhere they exist, usually in tissue cells and also outside cells. (Koch, 1882)

While tuberculosis was never completely eliminated, there was a significant drop in cases and death rates, as a result of the BCG vaccine and new anti-tubercular drugs in the 1950’s.

Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).

Tuberculosis has long been a disease that the human culture has been dealing with which entails significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. With dealing with such a horrific disease over the years, discoveries and evolution on the appropriate ways to contain, diagnose, and challengingly treat the disease has changed. One of the most concerning complications of this worldwide public health issue is the ability for it to quickly spread in high populated areas while becoming ever more resistant to forms of treatment not available in all locations around the world. This is a serious public

March 24, 1882 was a very special day that started the evolutional study of Tuberculosis. A German physician and scientist named Robert Koch was the first to publish work on tubercle bacillus. In 1890, Koch isolated a substance from tubercle bacillus that could render harmless pathogenic bacteria. After his findings, he created an injection, which he later called tuberculin. Koch injected himself with the concentrated tuberculin. While observing himself he found that the bacteria violently attacks the body and raised the body’s temperature. Because of his findings, other scientist could take a lead in the study and could other research with this bacteria m. tuberculosis (Daniel, 2006).

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB, has existed for centuries. The oldest recorded account of TB can be found in the literature by Hippocrates from around 460 BC (Tranotti, n.d.). However, at this point the infection was referred to as phthisis. Now at this time, this disease seemed to spell out the inevitable death for its prey. Hippocrates went so far as to advise his colleagues in the medical field to stay away from patients of the viral disease in order for the physicians not to lose their reputations due to the inevitability of their deaths. Later, in 1679, Dr. Franciscus Sylvius identified the anatomy and pathology of the disease. He was the first to identify actual tubercles, abscesses, and cavities in the lungs of patients as a result of the virus which led to its naming of Tuberculosis (A History of Tuberculosis Treatment, n.d.). About forty years later, English physician Benjamin Martin

The tubercle bacilli or the causative organism of tuberculosis was demonstrated by Robert Koch in 1882. He showed that

For the longest time, tuberculosis could only be identified by excruciating internal lesions. Confusingly, these lesions varied extremely by patient and only complicated potential diagnosis. The effects of tuberculosis remained entirely unknown until the astonishing discovery Robert Koch made in 1882 regarding the origin of tuberculosis: “It had thus evaded the medical profession for centuries, and it was not until Robert Koch’s identification of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1882 that its cause and means of transmission finally became known” (Byrne 2). Discovering the mysterious tuberculosis bacillus bacteria, Robert Koch provided a new foundation and first step towards learning more about the symptoms of tuberculosis. Utilizing Koch’s discovery, scientists and doctors suddenly acquired the ability to further investigate and research the causes and symptoms of tuberculosis, and therefore discovered that symptoms normally began to appear once a person became infected with small airborne particles. While examining people with the incompatible illness, they learned that tuberculosis directly affected the lungs, spine and kidney, which often results in bloody urine. Furthermore, additional symptoms included persistent coughing, chest pain, fever, night chills, and fatigue. Once symptoms

Chapter 9 in Diseases and Human Evolution discusses tuberculosis in humans and cattle. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of tuberculosis is the visits to the veterinarian whenever we wanted to cross state lines with livestock from our farm. Though Arizona is considered a tuberculosis free state, New Mexico is not. Even though our livestock was coming out of a TB free state, we still were required to take our goats to the vet and have blood draws done. The chapter reminded me of the relevance of tuberculosis in society today, both in livestock and humans, and how it is still a disease we are struggling to control in some countries, even though it has been around for several thousand years.

Now, scientists are warning signs of risks of tuberculosis and share information about bacterias and viruses. Today, when a new germ is known, they have a better chance of learning how to cure and fight it. Volunteers take the time to help in laborites in the United States, South America, Central America, and Asia. The World Health Organization reports that third of the world’s population is infected and eight million people get sick from tuberculosis that is identified to be helped by medicine from spreading the disease to

In an era where we consider the improvement of technology as the key to overcoming most a finding of diseases. Tuberculosis disease has been in existence for years; the ancient plague of tuberculosis continues to spread throughout population and countries. Beyond any other infectious disease. “In 2013, 9 million people around the world became sick with TB disease. There were around 1.5 million TB-related deaths worldwide (Kim, Shakow, Castro, Vande, & Farmer, 2015).” With all the technology improvement and drugs we still struggle to manage this deadly disease. Between 18th and19th century tuberculosis spread and reaches its maximal growth in urban and industrial environment of the united states and Europe. During that time in the Western

Tuberculosis was first discovered as a disease in 1882 by a scientist named Robert Koch (Rothman, 1994). Within a short period of time it was discovered that this was an infectious disease, along with being a disease that affected certain populations (Rothman, 1994). It was discovered that a vast majority of the individuals affected were either immigrant, therefore generally a minority population, or were of poor or working class status (Rothman, 1994). Several movements and directives were used during this time to attempt to stop the spread of tuberculosis, such as, “being outside in the clean air as much as possible, not drinking alcohol, and drinking plenty of clean water,” among others (Rothman, 1994). Between 1906 and 1919 a vaccine was developed by Albert Calmette and Camille Geurin, a pair of French scientists, to help prevent this terrible disease (Kupferschmidt, 2011). This BCG vaccine, or Bacillus

Tuberculosis is a 6000 years old disease, but the first time it infected human was in Africa 5000 years ago. Due to its danger it is called the white plague. It was transmitted to human by animals, so hunters were that first people who caught the disease. After that, the disease had spread to Europe and America through trade routes. This disease appeared in Ancient India, Ancient China, Classical antiquity, Pre-Columbian America, Europe: middle ages and renaissance, until Twentieth century. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis was first discovered by Robert Koch in 24 march 1882, and he received the Nobel Prize for his discovery. Throughout the ages, tuberculosis has infected tens of millions of people, and killed

Tuberculosis has existed for hundreds of years, taking on many names including “the White Plague” and “consumption” before it was named by medical professionals. Many public health efforts, such as improving hygiene, have aided in the reduction of tuberculosis cases worldwide. Treatment efforts and